6mm ARC - New Hornady cartridge

JRT

JRT

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I'm a big fan of 6mm cartridges and I'm also pretty excited about this new Hornady 6mm ARC round. People are going to want to immediate compare it to the 6.5 Grendel since they are both designed to be used in the lighter AR15 platform vs 6mm rounds like the 24 Nosler and 6mm Creedmoor which use the 308 platform. While the BC is similar to 6.5 Grendel the 6mm ARC pushes higher velocities and less bullet drop. The 6mm round has a huge range of projectile weights, I may grab and upper and see what this round has to offer. While its not designed for a bolt gun I did just pick up a receiver during the midway sale, with a bolt gun you could have a lot more options in hand loads.


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0Dl0gwNxCY
 
A few observations after watching the video,
  • Inside 1000 yards better ballistics than 308, with a huge weight savings
  • They seem to indicate they are working with MIL to have this become 5.56 replacement
  • They expect fast pick up in the PRC gas class. 6mm is already the king or PRC so this is not a big surprise.
  • Commercial rounds for match and tactical available now, hunting round available soon.
  • Ballistic weights from 58 to 110 grain.
  • No spotter needed due to limited recoil and bullet splash
  • Similar performance from a 10 inch to 26 inch barrel.
 
Last edited:
It has my attention, but it’s gonna come with a lot of man bun and tight jean jokes. All fun. But really this is about as ideal a cartridge as you can get in an AR while reaching out. It’s not gonna be replacing 5.56 except in SF units that can get anything they want. Plenty of comments will be coming along the line of what’s the point of another AR cartridge.
 
No way this will be replacing 5.56 in the military. Maybe the DoD’s new 6.8 program will eventually replace 5.56, but not 6mm ARC.

This looks like another Hornady money making effort. I like Hornady bullets and cartridges, but I can’t get excited about this unless it uses STANAG mags. Seems like just another option compared to 6.5 Grendel. Maybe some guys already into 6mm will like it because it’s not a wildcat.

chris_1001 said:
Did not yet watch the vid. But can you stuff these in a regular AR mag?
Click to expand...

I doubt it, because it uses the same bolt as a 6.5 Grendel. While the Grendel can kinda use regular mags, there are reliability issue
 
PappyM3 said:
No way this will be replacing 5.56 in the military. Maybe the DoD’s new 6.8 program will eventually replace 5.56, but not 6mm ARC.

This looks like another Hornady money making effort. I like Hornady bullets and cartridges, but I can’t get excited about this unless it uses STANAG mags. Seems like just another option compared to 6.5 Grendel. Maybe some guys already into 6mm will like it because it’s not a wildcat.



I doubt it, because it uses the same bolt as a 6.5 Grendel. While the Grendel can kinda use regular mags, there are reliability issue
Click to expand...

No real detail but it’s been adopted by the DoD already. Barrett and Geissele have delivered already. I looked through a few different articles and I don’t see a specific branch or unit mentioned.

www.tactical-life.com

Barrett REC7 Chambered in Hornady’s New 6mm ARC Shipping to DOD

The world learned of Hornady's newest creation Wednesday: The 6mm ARC cartridge. We've just learned that not only is Barrett
www.tactical-life.com www.tactical-life.com
 
C. Stockwell said:
FIFY.

I saw this when it came out last week. Doesn't have much application to my purposes, so I'm saving this in the memory bank.
Click to expand...

You must have insider knowledge.

“6mm ARC offers several user-friendly and logisitics advantages, as well as the crucial ballistic performance, that enable it to function in a standard AR/M4-type platform using STANAG AR / M4 magazines.(a 30-round AR mag holds 24 rounds of 6mm ARC)
 
JRT said:
No real detail but it’s been adopted by the DoD already. Barrett and Geissele have delivered already. I looked through a few different articles and I don’t see a specific branch or unit mentioned.

www.tactical-life.com

Barrett REC7 Chambered in Hornady’s New 6mm ARC Shipping to DOD

The world learned of Hornady's newest creation Wednesday: The 6mm ARC cartridge. We've just learned that not only is Barrett
www.tactical-life.com www.tactical-life.com
Click to expand...

It hasn’t been adopted. There may be an SMU testing it for their own unique needs, but it hasn’t been adopted.
 
JRT said:
You must have insider knowledge.

“6mm ARC offers several user-friendly and logisitics advantages, as well as the crucial ballistic performance, that enable it to function in a standard AR/M4-type platform using STANAG AR / M4 magazines.(a 30-round AR mag holds 24 rounds of 6mm ARC)
Click to expand...

I watched the promo video when Brownell's and Hornady announced the cartridge.

The 6mm ARC has a 6.5mm Grendel case necked down for the smaller bullet, so it uses a 6.5 Grendel bolt and magazines
Click to expand...

 
JRT said:
You must have insider knowledge.

“6mm ARC offers several user-friendly and logisitics advantages, as well as the crucial ballistic performance, that enable it to function in a standard AR/M4-type platform using STANAG AR / M4 magazines.(a 30-round AR mag holds 24 rounds of 6mm ARC)
Click to expand...

If true, I’m interested. Mag compatibility is why I’ve avoided a 6.5 Grendel upper. I’m rather curious how it avoids the 6.5 G issues in STANAG magazines.
 
Looks pretty nifty, I'm heavily invested into .30cal rifles but I just might have to try something new depending on the magazines. I really don't want to have to buy more platform specific magazines.
 
84ta406 said:
Looks pretty nifty, I'm heavily invested into .30cal rifles but I just might have to try something new depending on the magazines. I really don't want to have to buy more platform specific magazines.
Click to expand...

A lot of people mentioned the magazine. What’s the sensitivity to a mag? By all accounts you can use both but is it a big deal to buy mags?
 
JRT said:
A lot of people mentioned the magazine. What’s the sensitivity to a mag? By all accounts you can use both but is it a big deal to buy mags?
Click to expand...
For me I just don't want to buy more magazines for one specific cartridge. Aside from my 6.8SPC AR and magnum rifles, everything else shares magazines with other guns. If it does need specific magazines hopefully they're not priced crazy like AICS mags and such.
 
Midway has mags for less than $20.

I saw this the other day and have been a bit intrigued by it. However, until i see TSUSA carrying ammo , i wont be buying into it.
 
JRT said:
A lot of people mentioned the magazine. What’s the sensitivity to a mag? By all accounts you can use both but is it a big deal to buy mags?
Click to expand...
I get it. At some point you just have a giant pile of incompatible mags that look nearly the same. I wonder if it is just a different follower? Or are the feed lips also optimized? Otherwise, the outside shell should be identical (same lower, after all).
 
I kinda think this is Hornady going head-to-head with Federal at least in the consumer/shooter sphere. .224 Valk was Federals bid in the long range AR-15 word. Federal splashed onto the scene with accuracy from their 95gr SMK load with special rifles built up by JP. Since then, people have struggled with Getting consistent accuracy and finicky load development. Should be interesting to see how this one pans out.
 
I think .224 is based on the 6.8 case and mags. 6 ARC is based on 6.5 (220 Russian?) case and 6.5 mags.
 
it does look really good, but i can't justify it till the price comes down to 6.5 creedmoor/308 levels at around 50 cents a round
 
It looks like the three uppers available at launch are,
  • Odin
  • CMMG
  • Aero Precision
I have a couple of CMMG PCC in 9mm and 10mm but nothing else. Anybody have a preference between the three?
 
JRT said:
It looks like the three uppers available at launch are,
  • Odin
  • CMMG
  • Aero Precision
I have a couple of CMMG PCC in 9mm and 10mm but nothing else. Anybody have a preference between the three?
Click to expand...

Can't comment on Odin, but of the other two I much prefer Aero.
 

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